The study reports the prevalence of bancroftiasis in three Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Taraba State, Nigeria. Night blood samples collected from one thousand and thirty one individuals were stained with haematoxylin and examined microscopically for the presence of Wu-chereriabancrofti. The overall prevalence of infection in the study area was high (21.2%) but mean microfilaria densities were generally low. Statistically, prevalence rate differed significantly (χ2d.f.2 = 10.498; P < 0.05) between LGAs and despite the higher prevalence of microfilaraemia among males (22.7%) (females: 19.7%) there was no marked statistical difference (χ2d.f.1 = 1.385; P > 0.05)between sexes. Infection also did not statistically differ between age groups (χ2d.f.5 = 13.219; P > 0.05) even though infection rate increased steadily with age and reaching a peak at the 40 - 49 year age group. Lymphoe-dema was the commonest (M = 12.4%, F = 19.2%) clinical manifestation of bancroftian morbidity encountered in the survey. Overall, the findings indicate that bancroftian filariasis is a public health problem in Taraba state and there is an urgent need to establish an elimination programme with a view of halting transmission in the area.

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Lindsay, S.W. and Thomas, C.J. (2000) Mapping and estimating the population at risk for lymphatic filariasis in Africa. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 94, 37-45.
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